I guess there have always been people broken down at the side of the road. But after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I really started to notice them, wherever I was. They seemed to say something about the social and political breakdown that was happening across the US.

So I started making trips. I have a routine: fly into a big city, rent a car, and drive all day looking for stranded motorists. When I see one, I pull over. They usually think I'm there to help, so I have to say: "I'm a photographer, may I photograph you?" Normally, they agree. I'm a woman so not that threatening, and the camera gives you power. I use a medium format, which is pretty large; when they see that, they sense it's a serious thing.

This shot came from the first trip I took, in 2005. I set off from Pittsburgh through the Rust Belt, the north-eastern area that was once the backbone of US industry. After five fruitless days, I found myself outside Lexington, Kentucky, nervous and lonely. Then I saw a broken-down red van. It was November, kind of cold, and there was no one around. But I was so desperate, I pulled up. The driver, who told me his wife had gone to get petrol, was a little obese and on oxygen, so he wasn't going to be photographed.

Then he said: "My daughters are in the back, maybe they'd pose for you." So the door opened and out came three lovely little girls. I took shots of them together, then separately. One, Peri, was getting fed up with the cold, so she put her arms inside her shirt. It was a really great photographic moment, because it was visually confounding. People see the shot and think she doesn't have any arms.

CV

Born: Washington DC, 1970.

Studied: International Centre of Photography in New York; a masters at the School of Visual Arts.

Inspiration: Stephen Shore, Robert Frank, Joel Sternfeld and Robert Adams.

Top tip: "Your own work is not enough. Be fed and inspired by others. Find people who will support you, and who you can support. It's much less lonely."